Welcome to Reality Bites! Let's Get Lost! A place to escape into a wonderful book that takes you away from reality! Here you will find awesome book reviews, fun giveaways, and author info! Enjoy!!
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In the follow-up to Lisa Desrochers’ explosive New Adult novel A Little too Far, Alessandro Moretti must face the life he escaped and the girl he loved and left behind.

Twenty-two year old Hilary McIntyre would like nothing more than to forget her past. As a teenager abandoned to the system, she faced some pretty dark times. But now that’s all behind her. Hilary has her life on track, and there’s no way she’ll head back down that road again.

Until Alessandro Moretti—the one person who can make her remember—shows up on her doorstep. He’s even more devastatingly gorgeous than before, and he’s much too close for comfort. Worse, he sees right through the walls she’s built over these last eight years, right into her heart and the secrets she’s guarding.

As Hilary finds herself falling back into love with the man who, as a boy both saved and destroyed her, she must decide. Past or future? Truth or lies?

After
getting involved with Dylan, the bad boy of the Dixon High Swim team, Charley
decides to stay close to home for college. It’s just safer that way. Later, she
realizes it’s a mistake, just like dating Dylan. She decides to put the past
behind her and leave the small hick town of Grassy Pond. There is only one
problem; she makes this decision three weeks before the fall semester begins.

Charley packs up her Honda and heads to Southern College. On the morning she’s
about to leave, Cash walks back into her life. He has been her best friend
since they were four and is the only one who knows the REAL Charley. She leaves
her farm in Grassy Pond with all kinds of “what if” questions.

Charley decides to live her college career to the fullest. She finds a great
group of friends, joins the swim team, and meets a guy named Joe. He’s got eyes
that make ya wanna melt!

At college, she encounters a new problem. Charley has been away from home for
only forty-eight hours before she breaks the two promises she made to herself.
Will she be able to overcome her past? Find new love? What will happen with
Cash now that he is back in her life? Will she find what she is wanting in
Jackalope Joe? How will her first semester of college end? Joe, Cash, or alone?

“Hey, let’s hit the dance
floor.”I take Caroline’s arm while the
rest of the Kluft girls follow us, and we hit the make shift dance floor in the
living room.They are playing Mobb
Deep’s “Quiet Storm.”It’s old, but I
love the beat.We hit the middle of the
floor and start swaying our hips to the music.We giggle like school girls as we notice the guys in the room taking
note.A few others join us, Crystal and
Lucas included.

“If they’re watchin’, let’s show them how we Southern
girls have a good time,” I say to Caroline.

“You got it!”

We add just a little more emphasis to our hips and start
dancing with each other.Before I know
it, the song is over, and we walk back to the kitchen to grab another
drink.

“Caroline, I’m so glad Crystal got me to come with y’all
tonight.I’m not big on partying, but it
looks like I might have to change that thought if we have this much fun!”

“Girl, anytime!I
can tell already that Georgia and us are gonna be tight because we are a lot
alike.Only thing is she’s super
quiet.We are from ‘round here.Most of the students here are Yankees.Not that it’s a bad thing.They just piss me off when they make us seem
stupid by the way we talk.I mean they chose to come to school here.”

“I understand you completely!But aren’t those Yankees too damn cute?I love me a country boy, but I might have to
widen my horizons.”

I’m about to pour myself another round when I hear the
sexiest voice known to women.I look up
and there is Jackalope Joe.If his voice
does that to me, I can only imagine what will happen if those perfect lips
touch mine.

“Let me get that for you.”

“Thanks, Joe?
Joe is your name, right?”Play dumb Charley.

“Yeah, and you’re Cougar Charley.”We both laugh.

“You know all I want to call you is Jackalope Joe,” I say
with a half smile.

I think I might fall out looking into those make ya wanna
melt, piercing blue eyes.Keep it together, Charley. I’ve gotta
keep in control. Good lookin’ or not, guys are like a bad habit I can’t
break.The last time I got involved with
someone that could make panties drop by just lookin’ at me almost ended my
life.I have to stay in control, no
matter what my emotions are screaming at me.

Casey Peeler
grew up and still lives in North Carolina with her husband and daughter. Her
first passion is teaching students with special needs. Over the years, she
found her way to relax was in a good book.

After reading Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neal Hurston her senior year
of high school and multiple Nicholas Sparks’ novels, she found a hidden love
and appreciation for reading.

Casey is an avid reader, blogger (Hardcover Therapy,) and now author. No
Turning Back (Full Circle #1) is her debut novel releasing September 30th.
Finding Charley (Full Circle #2) will release spring 2014.

Her goal is to one day be an author who is recognized nationwide like Jamie
McGuire, Colleen Hoover, Tiffany King, and Amanda Bennett.

When Casey isn’t reading, you can find her listening to country music, spending
the day at the lake, being a wife and dance mom, and spending time with friends
and family.

Her perfect day consists of water, sand between her toes, a cold beverage, and
a great book!

Jane Black has written the break-up album of the century, earning her a Grammy, a huge legion of new fans, and the pressure to repeat her success. Sure, the heartbreak from her husband’s unconventional abandonment might have been her inspiration, but it hasn’t done her any favors in the dating department. So when Matthew Harrigan, the toughest music journalist out there, asks for an interview, Jane agrees—as long as her personal life is completely off-limits.

British, gorgeous, and way too tempting, Matthew’s the first guy Jane’s been attracted to since her husband. As she spends more time with him and their relationship heats up, though, so does her writer’s block. How can the queen of the break-up pen the perfect follow-up when she’s seriously in love?

Lauren Blakely writes sexy contemporary romance novels with heat, heart, and humor, and her books have appeared on the New York Times, USA Today, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and iBooks bestseller lists. Like the heroine in FAR TOO TEMPTING, she thinks life should be filled with family, laughter, and the kind of love that love songs promise. Lauren lives in California with her husband, children, and dogs. Her novels include Caught Up In Us, Pretending He’s Mine, Playing With Her Heart, and Trophy Husband. She also writes for young adults under the name Daisy Whitney.

Saturday, September 28, 2013

They say there are five stages of grief: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance.

Not everyone will grieve in this order, nor will everyone go through every stage. It’s during the stage of denial when Alex Hart meets Andrew Foster. He takes her one-step closer to acceptance: the stage when new, meaningful relationships are formed. The stage when the realization occurs that this is now the new state of normal.

Just when Alex thinks she is on her way to healing, she enters the bargaining phase. That’s the phase where you wonder what you could have done differently. You wonder “what if?” Specifically, what if the ones you loved hadn’t left you?

Leaving…this is what makes heading off to war so difficult and frightening for Alex. She knows all too well what it’s like to be the one on the losing end of life, which is why she’s made it her personal mission in life to save as many lives as possible. The extreme high she gets from treating trauma victims turns into Alex’s own form of therapy, or so she thinks.

When faced with her world being turned upside down, Alex may just find that her true therapy is in the one who has always saved her.

Having read all of the authors 'This' series books, I was really excited to get my hands on Skipping Stones. Surprisingly, this story was completely not what I expected but in a good way. This is a beautiful story about family, love loss and second chances that spans over fifteen years.

The story begins with 15 year old Alex Hart going on her summer vacation to her grandparents home, Memaw & Papa. Her parents wanted her to go to Europe with them but her favourite place on earth is her grandparents home. Little did she know that when she kissed her parents goodbye, it would be the last time. A tragic accident occurs and they are both taken from her.

"Oh what I'd give to just have three wishes. But there are no genies, and there's no way, it seems, to regain what I've lost" Alex

She runs off to her comfort zone, the creek near her Papa & Memaw's house. She has spent many summers there with her father and Papa. What she didn't expect down there was meeting a boy, Drew Foster. He is 17 years old, has eyes the colour of chocolate milk and is hot. Drew is new to town so unfamiliar to Alex but there is something about him that just draws her in. She is broken and grieving and he seems to be the only person she needs.

Over three weeks they begin to fall in love with each other as he teaches her how to skip stones down at the creek. Every day without fail he is there and he is just so sweet, he gives her something to look forward to and be happy about.

"I'll teach you how to breath again. I'll teach you everything" - Drew

Then one day he is gone. Alex once again has to deal with loss. Everyone in her life who she loves leaves her. She feels abandoned and alone.

She has her Memaw and Papa and what loving grandparents they are, they have been together for 60 years and love each other madly, it's really beautiful reading how they are with each other and how devoted they are to Alex.

I thought it was really sweet that a teenage girl was happy to hang out with her grandparents and snuggle on her Papa's lap. Most 15 year old kids I know would want to spend summer with their friends. Papa always share his wisdom with Alex and she adores him.

"God won't give you more than you can handle. You know that because there have been times when you didn't think you'd make it, but you did" - Papa

We then jump fifteen years ahead and Alex is 30 years old and has been to medical school and is in the military about to be deployed to Afghanistan. When she is there she is sure she sees Drew, she knows his voice and those eyes but maybe she was just wishing for the man who still has her heart. A few months later she returns home to Memaw and Papa and there is a knock at the door, it's Drew. What is he doing back here?

I inhaled this book, I loved this sad but beautiful story. The innocence of first love and how beautifully this was told.

J.B. McGee was born and raised in Aiken, South Carolina. After graduating from South Aiken High School, she toured Europe as a member of the 1999 International Bands of America Tour, playing the clarinet. While attending Converse College, an all-girls school in Spartanburg, South Carolina, she visited Charleston often. It quickly became one of her favorite vacation spots. She met her husband, Chad, during Christmas break her freshman year, and they married in 2001 and she moved back to her home town.

In 2005, the couple welcomed their first son, Noah. J.B. finished her Bachelor of Arts degree in Early Childhood Education at the University of South Carolina-Aiken in 2006. During her time studying children's literature, a professor had encouraged her to become a writer.

In 2007, she welcomed their second child, Jonah, and she became a stay at home mom/entrepreneur. In 2009, the found out their two children and J.B. have Mitochondrial Disease. In 2011, a diagnosis also was given to Chad. Please take a moment and learn more about Mitochondrial Disease. Awareness is key to this disease that has no cure or treatments.

J.B. McGee and her family now reside in Buford, Georgia, to be closer to their children's medical team. After a passion for reading had been re-ignited, J.B. decided to finally give writing a shot. Broken (This Series), is her first book and first series.

Laney Walker is a quick witted, athletic, southern tomboy who lets few get too close, using her sarcastic zingers to deflect. She also has no idea how others view her, Evan having protected and coveted her since they were children. But college puts a gap between Laney and Evan that neither of them were prepared for- old relationships are tested, new ones are formed and nothing will ever be the same.

Especially when in walks one Dane Kendrick, not at all the familiar, southern charmer of home, but an animal all his own.

A story of growing up, friendship, loyalty, first love, primal love...and life.

Mature content.

I really was not sure what to expect when starting this book. I had it sitting it on my kindle forever but never got around to starting it. Then I was approached to do a review on the blog for it and figured, why not?

And now I remember why I was waiting!

The ending! UGH! I need book two, like NOW! It is not a bad cliffhanger, per se. It just leaves things unresolved with a character I love and I want to know how things turn out for him. If I didn't love him so much, I could probably end it with book one and be happy. Instead, I am left eagerly awaiting the release of book two!

Before heading off to college, Laney decides it is best to break things off with Evan. He is her long time BFF who most recently became her boyfriend. It is not a decision Laney makes lightly, but because she realizes that with her and Evan attending separate colleges, things will be different. She acknowledges the fact that there are some lines, that if crossed, she would never be able to recover from. Which means neither would their relationship, not even the friendship.

I didn't feel Laney made this decision based on her lack of trust in Evan but because she is a realist. College is going to be the first time they have been apart since they were 10, things are bound to be different. I personally think it was an awesome growth opportunity for them both. Although, in the end, it felt like Laney really was the only one to truly embrace the college life and make the most of it.

She makes some wonderful friends along the way. And meets someone new that captures her attention. Now remember, her and Evan broke up, so there is no cheating nor a love triangle. As she begins to explore where her new attraction to someone new will go, she also realizes she can't let go of Evan. He is all she has ever known and being attracted to someone else doesn't erase the years of history Laney and Evan have. But is first love always the truer love? Laney has some tough decisions to make and has to figure out who her heart wants.

Emerge is a book about growing up and falling in love. About finding yourself and embracing the changes it brings. It is exploring new feelings and spreading your wings. It is about making changes for your future and while trying to hold on to the past.

It truly was a great book overall. I am definitely looking forward to the release of book two!

Tahyra Petros tried desperately to save herself and her sister, and instead ended up forever changed.

Shandor Asenov battled with death, and lost.

Hockey Sava, in a valiant attempt at saving his friends, vanished.

Caroline Andrews lost her brother during a violent attempt at survival and was subsequently left alone in the hands of an unknown fate.

And, Marko Siwak disappeared in the middle of the night and was never heard from again.

These are the stories of their journeys lost in a world where devastation knows no boundaries, where enemies await them at every turn, and where heartache, loss, and death supersede happiness, peace, and love...and the destiny that awaits them.

"Not all those who wander are lost…

- J. R. R. Tolkien

What is fate? Or destiny?

Do we each have a predestined plan? A path to follow on our journey, mapped out long before us?

Does someone, something, somewhere, already know what hasn’t yet come to pass?Are words such as chance, fortune and luck, just words?Are we all just pawns in a game being played by a force of power, so much bigger than us, a force so great, so unfathomably paramount that we, as mere humans, simply do not have the ability to comprehend it?

What if the answer was yes?

What if every step we’ve taken, every choice, every mistake we’ve make, every success, every sad or happy moment in our lives, every person we’ve met, every feeling, every emotion we’d ever experienced, every single breath we’ve taken, our first and our last…

What if every single moment of our lives was, is, will be --no matter who you are, poor or wealthy, famous, criminal, loved or hated – what if it was all an inevitability, a foreordination, utterly uncontrollable by us?

Would it still be worth it?

“You’re beautiful, Tayhra,” Shandor growled softly, releasing her hair to cup the side of her head and face.
Confused, she froze beneath him.

“The face of a goddess,” he said forcefully, “With the body of a whore. Fată, you’re a goddamn work of art.

Red eyes blinked up at him. Once, twice, three times.

“You’re the sort of beautiful a man doesn’t just want to fuck; you’re the kind a man wants to watch fall apart beneath him and know that it was him who broke her.”